Despite recent criticism, there can be no doubt that the baby milk formula has saved countless lives over the years. The first successful formula milk was produced in 1860 by Henri Nestlé in Switzerland. It was the cow's milk and cereals and was the first scientific attempt to mimic breast milk.
It is only in modern times that some mothers have difficulty producing enough breast milk to feed their baby: t is a problem and it remains so. This inability toproduction of breast milk is more common in women who live on the poor diet and is a major problem for mothers in poverty. It 'was during a visit to mothers living in poverty and children in orphanages that Henri Nestle first determined, with more than a substitute for breast milk. At the end came with a concoction called Lactée flour based, as he says, "cooked wholesome milk Switzerland and member of cereals through a special process of my invention" way. In 1867 he supported thisa premature baby whose mother was seriously ill himself, the boy survived, and Nestle's reputation soared. Nestle great strength was not an invention, it was a very good marketing, and within 5 years, was sold had offices in London and the formula has been exported to South America and Australia.
Nestle was not the only producer of milk for infants. Others contain Justus von Liebig, Horlicks and Mellins Foods. The success of formula milk-based seed 'owes everythingto the massive strides in bacteriology made by the like of Louis Pasteur and others who made the handling of milk far safer than it had been before.
The term 'formula' is derived from Thomas Morgan Botch's approach to "percentage feeding." He coined the term when he was trying to devise the best mix of the various constituents that make up baby formula. A common basic formula, at the time, at Infant's Hospital in Boston was 2-6-2, meaning 2% fat, 6% carbohydrate, and 2% protein. During the twentieth century many commercial companies have strived to improv milk formula. Franklin Infant Food introduced, in 1923, was a powdered formulation, later to be called Similac. Enfamil, by Mead Johnson, was a latecomer in 1959, but the company, established in 1905, and pioneered vitamin research in the 1920's with the first cod liver oil of standardized potency in 1924 and pure solution of Vitamin D in 1929.
There has been much controversy with formula milk in recent years. Slick advertising campaigns led to many millions of women feeding their children formula rather than breast milk. Whilst the negative effects in the West have been minimal (if at all any) the same can't be said for mothers in the Third World who bottle-feed their babies. The lack of basic safe, clean water has led to the deaths of millions of children who were fed contaminated formula milk. Despite many campaigns, the practice of dumping milk formula on the developing world appears to be an ongoing problem.
The history of bottle formula milk is not very old and the take up by millions of women all over the world has been staggering. It is also a controversial history and its future seems set to be one of controversy.
